Kevin Sowers to Retire at End of 2027 After Decade Leading Johns Hopkins Health System

Kevin W. Sowers will retire at the end of 2027 after serving as president of Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine since 2018, Mirage News reported. Theodore DeWeese, dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, shared the news in a message to employees. Sowers succeeded Ronald R. Peterson, who retired in 2017 after 44 years with Johns Hopkins Medicine.

DeWeese Leads Search for Sowers' Successor

DeWeese will lead a national search for Sowers' successor in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Medicine board of trustees. Sowers plans to serve as a senior executive adviser after his retirement to support the transition. "I am deeply grateful to Kevin for the leadership and dedication he has brought to our community," DeWeese wrote. "His commitment to our patients, our people, and all of the communities served by our health system has left a lasting mark."

Sowers began his healthcare career in 1985 as an oncology nurse and held successive leadership roles over 32 years with Duke University Health System, serving the last eight as president and CEO of Duke University Hospital. He became the second person to hold the dual president and executive vice president role at Johns Hopkins. In his current role, Sowers oversees the health system's six hospitals and serves as chair of Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, which has more than 40 primary and specialty care outpatient sites across Maryland and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

"When I joined Johns Hopkins Medicine in 2018, I made a commitment to the organization and to myself to give 10 years of everything I had to this extraordinary place," Sowers said in a video message announcing his retirement plans. "We have a lot of important work to do together, and I look forward to continuing to work with and learn from colleagues from across our institutions."

Johns Hopkins Medicine's Scale and Recent Moves

Johns Hopkins Medicine operates six academic and community hospitals, four suburban health care and surgery centers, and over 40 patient care locations, according to akta.pro company records. The same records list 2.8 million patients annually and nearly 337,000 emergency room visits annually. Johns Hopkins Community Physicians receives more than 931,000 patients each year.

Earlier Johns Hopkins Medicine Announcements

In October 2026, Johns Hopkins Medicine led a $52.1 million ARPA-H study to build an AI model for protein folding, focusing on Parkinson's disease and Ewing sarcoma, Mirage News reported. OpenEvidence and Johns Hopkins Medicine announced a strategic collaboration to reimagine medical education and clinical care in the age of AI in October 2026, Mirage News reported. In August 2026, WellSpan Health and Johns Hopkins Medicine announced the extension of their oncology collaboration, expanding access to advanced cancer care and research opportunities for patients in Central Pennsylvania, FinancialContent Business Page reported.

Transition Timeline

Sowers' retirement takes effect at the end of 2027. Plans for celebrations honoring Sowers and his career will be shared at a later date.